Method op making dispensing containers

ABSTRACT

THE METHOD INVOLVES MAKING A &#34;STAND-UP&#34; PACKAGE FROM FLEXIBLE FILM OF THE HEAT SEALABLE VARIETY, BY CRUSHING THE FLATTENING ONE END OF A TUBE AND THEN THERMALLY MOLDING OR SETTING THE FILM OF FORM STIFFENED, SELF-SUSTAINING FOLDS.

Feb. 29 1972 w 5, SQ'HNEHJER E'T'AL' Re. 27,30!

' umnon OF MAKING DISPENSING CONTAINERS Original Filed Aug. 21, 1964 3Sheets-Sheet l H IHIHIII HIHHHlHIHIHIIIHIIHHHHIIIHF INVENTOR S W 7%?lrrpmvsyr.

w. s. SCHNEIDER ETAL 1 METHOD. OF MAKIN DISPENSING CONTAINERS Feb.29,1972

5 Sheets-Shet 5.

Original Filed Aug. 2 1, 1964 Mazel'fllllllllllllllflllllllllllllilllllllmli 57 l llilllli WTLL/AM 5Saws/0G3 AAn/UQJQ 609E444.

, .Zwvemve: W 4r aways United States Patent Oflice Reissued Feb. 29,1972 650,077, June 29, 1964, which is a division of Ser. No.

391,130, Aug. 21, 1964. Application for reissue July 15, 1971, Ser. No.159,146

Int. Cl. B65b 9/06 US. Cl. 53-28 34 Claims Matter enclosed in heavybrackets [I] appears in the original patent but forms no part of thisreissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates the additionsmade by reissue.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The method involves making a stand-up packagefrom flexible film of the heat scalable variety, by crushing andflattening one end of a tube and then thermally molding or setting thefilm to form stiifened, self-sustaining folds.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a division ofour co-pending application, Serial No. 391,130 filed Aug. 21, 1964, nowabandoned, for Dispensing Container."

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally topackages made of thin, flexible webs or films on high speed formand-fillmachines; and it is more especially concerned with making from flexiblefilm a dispensing-type package that can be set down, after opening,without causing the contents to leak out of the package. In the latterrespect, the packages resemble bottles and other containers of rigidwall structures; but bottles and the like are relatively expensive andare, therefore, not well adapted to packaging small portions of aproduct.

Certain characteristics are obviously to be desired in a flexiblepackage in order to make it possible to open the package and then set itdown without having the contents leak out, as is the case with flat orenvelope type packages. The advantage is that it is not necessary todischarge the entire contents of the package at one time so that thepackage can be used for temporary storage, whether a matter of minutesor substantially longer.

Obviously, a package for this purpose should have a base on which it canrest when on some surface, such as a table, and upon which the packageis stable so that there is comparatively little danger of the packagetipping over.

The flat or envelope packages have come into widespread use because theyare comparatively inexpensive and are adaptable to a. wide range ofproducts and conditions. These envelope packages use inexpensive, flexible film. Machines for converting the flat film stock into packages arevery highly developed and operate at high speeds. Such machines arecommonly known as formand-fill machines since they form the package,fill it, and seal the completed package in a continuous series of steps,

with the result that packaging costs have been reduced to a very lowvalue.

Thus it becomes a general object of the present invention to combine theproduction advantage of thin, flexible films with the stand-upcharacteristics of more rigid materials in a single package, thusenabling the economical production of a dispensing package that standsupon a definitely established base.

It is also an object of the invention to produce a package of noveldesign from thin, flexible film and having a definitely established andobvious base surface on which the package can rest in a stable positionwith the discharge opening at or near the upper end of the package.

More especially, it is an object of the present invention to make apackage of novel design entirely from thin, flexible film, using eitherone or two webs as may be desired which has a definite base upon whichthe package can be made to stand up, such base being formed in thepackage without requiring the addition of any separate pieces whichrequire separate forming steps or adhesion to another part of thepackage.

In terms of a method, it is an object of the present invention to devisea method of producing a package having the characteristics set forthabove which is adapted to production on standard types of torm-and-flllmachines with a minimum of modification in the machines, thus enablingadvantage to be taken of all the engineering and production techniquesnow available.

More especially it is an object of the present invention to devise amethod of producing a dispensing package having the abovecharacteristics, using machines that form transverse seals in a tubularweb in a well-known manner and modifying the forming operations toproduce the desired package.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above and other objects of the inventionare attained in a package embodying the present invention by providing atube of thin, flexible material with opposing marginal portions of thetube at each end thereof sealed together to form transversely extendingend seals. A portion of the package wall adjoining one end seal iscrushed and flattened to dispose the wall generally in a plane extendingtransversely to the longitudinal axis of the tube to form a base uponwhich the package can rest. The base is thermally molded or set, afterflattening, to maintain an angular relation between the base and theadjoining sides of the package so that the base is definitelyestablished and maintained. Finally, the container thus made is filledand closed.

In order to mass produce a package of this character, the web of thin,flexible material is formed around a man drel into a tube, the tube isthen sealed transversely at one end at a position spaced from the end ofthe mandrel, a terminal portion of the tube at the sealed end of thetube is then deformed in a suitable manner, as by flattening against asurface lying in a plane transverse to the axis of the tube, theflattening operation bringing a portion of the tube wall into positionto provide a bottom wall extending across the base of the tube,generally normal to the tube axis. The operation also brings intoopposing position areas of the material in the flattened zone.

Next, the base configuration and the angular relation of the bottom walland the side walls are stabilized. This can be done by variousoperations, either alone or in combination with each other. One suchoperation is to apply heat and pressure around the perimeter of the baseto thermally mold the angle at the junction of the bottom wall and sidewalls. Instead, or in addition, the opposing folded areas in theflattened zone may be sealed together face-to-face to establish andmaintain the base on the completed package. After introducing a productinto the tube through the open upper end thereof, the package iscompleted by closing the tube with a transversely extending seal placedabove the level of the product in the tube.

The base is preferably circular in outline. When the base is polygonalin form, preferably having four sides, seals are placed at a minimum oftwo opposite sides of the base. In addition thereto, the walls may bepinched together at two additional sides to provide sealed areas at theother sides of the base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING How the above objects and advantages of thepresent invention, as well as others not specifically mentioned herein,are attained will be more readily understood by reference to thefollowing description and to the annexed drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a dispensing container made of thin,flexible material and embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section substantially on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the package of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section on line 4-4 of FIGJ.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section on line 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of a variational embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation thereof.

FIG. 8 is a horizontal section on line 88 of FIG. 6. I FIG. 9 is afragmentary vertical section on line 99 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a mandrel and sealing heads showing successivesteps in the formation of the various seals for the package.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic view, looking from the right in FIG. 2,showing one step in the formation of the package wherein the portionadjacent one end seal is flattened and flattened portions are sealedtogether.

FIG. 12 is a diagramamtic view showing the step of forming auxiliaryfolds by pinching side walls of the package and sealing them together atthe base.

FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic view showing the trimming operation.

FIG. 14 is a side elevation of a variational form of dispensingcontainer embodying the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary section on line 1515 of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a side elevation thereof, viewed from the right in FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a bottom view thereof.

FIG. 18 is a bottom view of the container of FIG. 14 at one stage in itsformation, as on line 18-18 of FIG. 19.

FIGS. 19 and 20 are diagrams showing various stages in forming thepackage of FIGS. l4l8.

DESCRIPTION OF PERFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Referring now tothe drawings, and especially to FIG. 1 thereof, there is indicated at 10a package constituting one typical embodiment of the present invention.It will be seen that the package 10 has along the top a transverselyextending seal 11 closing the upper end of the package. Adjacent thistransverse seal, the package resembles the familiar flat package sinceat seal 11 it has only two side walls 12 and 14 which oppose each otherand which are sealed together at seal 11.

At the other or lower end of the package, it is provided with a base 16,which in this embodiment is a polygon with preferably four more or lessequal sides. In the broad aspect of the invention, the base may becircular as described later or it may have any number of sides desiredwith a minimum of three; but if a polygon, for practical reasons agenerally rectangular base is preferred. Extending across the base is asecond transverse seal 17, shown particularly in FIGS. 4 and 5. Seal 17is formed in the same manner as seal 11 and is normaly parallel thereto,for seasons which will become apparent as the description progresses;but the invention is not necessarily limited thereto.

By virtue of having a four-sided base, it will be seen that for most ofits height the package has side walls 18 and 19 in addition to thepreviously mentioned side walls 12 and 14. The two side walls 18 and 19may be seen by reference to FIG. 2, as being generally triangular inshape, while the walls 12 and 14 are narrower at the base than at thetop. Along side wall 12 the package has a longitudinally extending seam20 which extends for the full length of the package and crosses both endseals 11 and 17 at some position between their ends, preferably more orless centrally of the end seals in the preferred embodiment of thepackage. When the package is made from a single web, as described later,there is only one longitudinally extending seam 20; but the package maybe made from two webs if desired, in which case there are twolongitudinal seams, one at each side of the package.

Individual packages can also be made from seamless tubing, in which casethere is no seam 20; but seamless tubing is not easily adapted to largescale production.

Base 16 and the four side walls of the package are all integral with oneanother. In order to maintain an angular relationship between the baseand the side walls and to define or establish the portion of the packagewalls constituting the base, means are provided at the base forstabilizing or maintaining the configuration of the base and bottomwall, including this angular relationship. Such means includes a pair ofself-sustaining folds 22 in the web from which the package is made.While the method of forming these folds will be explained later, it maybe seen from FIG. 1 that these folds are located along two oppositesides of the base. Each fold consists of portions of the web which arebrought into face-toface relationship to each other and sealed to eachother to maintain the folds, since otherwise the weight of the contentsin the package could cause the folds to disappear.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 10-13 which illustrate indiagrammatic form the manufacture of the package just described.

The package may, in its broader aspects, be considered as being madefrom a tube of plastic material, because this is a starting point in themanufacture of the package and the invention is independent of how theplastic tube is produced. For example, the package may be formed from alength of seamless tubing.

The more common practice in high speed packaging machines is thatillustrated in FIG. 10 in which the tube is formed from a flat web orsheet 26 or material normally withdrawn from a supply roll. The web 26withdrawn from the roll is a thin, flexible material, preferably of sucha nature that the inside faces of the container can be sealed togetherby the application of heat and pressure, as is well known in the art. Ina typical case, the web may be a material such as cellulose acetatefilm, commonly known as cellophane, coated with a layer of polyethyleneabout 2-3 mils thick on one side to render the film heat sealable onthat side. Of course, it is within the scope of the invention to usewebs of other material, including webs that are heat sealable on twosides or those which require the addition of an adhesive in order toform the seals.

Web 26 when withdrawn from supply roll 25 is initially flat but ispassed over idler 25a and then formed into a continuous tubular shapearound mandrel 28 by drawing the web inside a forming. member 29 aroundthe mandrel which shapes the web into the desired tube. After passingthrough former 29, the web has longitudinally extending marginalportions brought into inside-face-toinside-face relation such that theseportions can then be sealed together by the application of heat andpressure applied through a pair of movable sealing heads 30 whichperiodically reciprocate toward and away from each other to engage thesemarginal portions of the web. After passing between the sealing heads,the tubular formation is completed and it moves down along the mandrel.The invention is not limited to this particular type of longitudinalseal, as other types, for example, a lap-type seam, may be used.

The upper part of the mandrel is preferably circular to facilitateformation of the web into a tubular configuration. In order to obtainthe desired rectangular shape for the base of the package, suitableforming means may be used. As an example, plunger 31 movable within andrelative to mandrel 28 may be rectangular in cross section to give thedesired shape to the final package. In this situation the mandrel may ormay not gradually change somewhere along its length from circular crosssection to rectangular cross section near its lower end. Mandrel 28 ishollow in order to permit filling the package, as is common practice inthe art, and to accommodate plunger 31 which serves as an extension ofthe mandrel, as will be seen.

At a position spaced a short distance below the lower end of mandrel 28,there is another pair of reciprocating sealing heads 34 which areadapted to engage the tubular Web from opposite sides and flatten itbetween the pair of heads 34 for the purpose of forming the transverselyextending seal at one end of the package. Actually, the seal so formedmay close opposite ends of two successive packages; but for purposes ofdescription here, it need only be considered at this time as closing thelower end of the tube and forming end seal 17 of the finished package.Heads 34 bring the walls of the package into insideface-to-inside-facerelation to place this transverse seal.

By reference to FIGS. and 11, it will be seen that the tubular web isdisposed around the entire perimeter of the lower section of themandrel. However, at the sealing heads 34, the tubular configuration ofthe web changes to a flat one, since the transverse seal 17 liessubstantially in a single, axial plane.

As the initial step in crushing the end of the tube to shape the base ofthe package, plunger 31 is lowered from the solid line position (FIG.10) to the broken line position 31a of FIG. 11. This is the same asextending or lowering the mandrel within the web tube and stretches theweb around the plunger. A portion of the web tube adjacent to andincluding a part of seal 17 is now stretched across the bottom face ofplunger 31 where it becomes the bottom wall 16 of the package. In sodoing seal 17 may be raised somewhat to the broken line position (FIG.11) and two triangular folds 37 are formed, one at each of two oppositesides of the mandrel, as in FIG. 13.

The next operation is to flatten the transverse seal 17 at the lower endof the tube and the adjoining portion of the tube below the mandrel byrelative movement with respect to a plane surface disposed transverselyof the axis of the tube. This can be accomplished after sealing heads 34are retracted and separated, by moving upwardly against the lower end ofplunger 31 a plate 36, as is indicated in FIG. 12. In this operation,transverse seal 17 is bent over through approximately 90 degrees alongits upper horizontal edge so that it lies flat against the upper surfaceof plate 36, while a portion of the web adjoining the seal is alsoflattened and folded to form more definitely the laterally projectingtriangular folds 37. At opposite sides of the tube, these folds areformed in much the same way as one folds the ends of a piece of wrappingpaper as a first step in folding around the end of a rectangular box.This flattening brings into contact, inside-face-to-inside-face, thedouble thickness flattened and folded portions of the tube which now lieagainst plate 36 and extend laterally beyond the web tube at 37, asshown in FIGS. 12 and 13.

While plate 36 is in the raised position shown in solid lines in FIG.12, the opposing walls at 37 can be sealed together by the applicationof heat and pressure applied through a pair of sealing heads 38, one ateach side of the mandrel, which are movable downwardly against thelaterally projecting portions of the web, as indicated diagrammaticallyin FIG. 12.

These projecting web portions 37 may project laterally an objectionablygreat distance. Consequently, it may be preferred to trim off the endsof the projections along the dotted lines 39 in FIG. 13, leavingattached to the package only the portions shown at 22 in FIG. 4 in solidlines. This can be accomplished by means of trimming blades 40 carriedby sealing heads 38. While maintaining sealing heads 38 in loweredposition to grip web extensions 37 between the heads and plate 36,simultaneous downward movement of plate 36 and heads 38 now draws thetubular web downwardly over the mandrel to advance the web a packagelength below heads 34.

supply tube 42, which is also the means for raising andv loweringplunger 31. After the product is inserted and the package filled, thepackage is completed by closing it. This is accomplished by placing atransverse seal with sealing heads 34 at a position on the tube abovethe product level. The filled packaged is then severed from thefollowing web by cutting through the web within the sealed area, thisbeing accomplished conveniently by a cutting blade 44 carried by one ofthe sealing heads 34, as indicated diagrammatically in FIG. 10. Themechanisms are well known in the industry and are not necessary to anunderstanding of the present invention.

From the foregoing description, it will be noticed that the transverseseal placed by sealing heads 34 is actually divided into two parts bythe cut made by knife 44. The lower portion becomes transverse seal 11closing one package at its upper end after the product is inserted asjust described, while the upper portion of the seal becomes transverseseal 17 at the bottom of the next package, this seal closing the end ofthe tube preparatory to conditioning the tube for forming the nextpackage.

The lateral extensions 37 each comprise two opposing areas of theoriginal web of the tube which have been brought into face-to-face,opposing relationship and then sealed together by the application ofheat and pressure. These may be regarded as folds in the web or tube.

Placing them at the base of the package serves not onlyv to delineatethe base 16, since one edge of the sealed areas defines one edge of thebase, but these folds are self-sustaining in nature by virtue of sealingtogether portions of the web and thus they serve to maintain theestablished angular relationship between the base and the side walls ofthe package. Base 16 being thus adequately defined and established, itis likewise maintained after the package is filled with a product sothat weight of the product does not cause the folds to disappear. As aresult, the base provides a stable surface upon which the package canrest in an upright condition.

The contents of the package are discharged by forming an opening at theupper end by cutting or tearing off a corner of the package along a linesuch as is indicated at 45. The discharge opening thus formed is abovethe product level at all times and is at the end of the package removedfrom the base.

From the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the packageand a method of making it, variations therein will occur to personsskilled in the art but within the scope and spirit of the presentinvention. Among such variations, two are illustrated herein. FIGS. 69illustrate a package 1021 which is made in the manner previouslydescribed except as noted below. One evident change is in the locationof the longitudinal seam by which marginal portions of the web sheet arejoined together to form the tube. In this embodiment of the invention,the longitudinal seam 20a is displaced from its prior positionapproximately 90 degrees around the periphery of the package so that theseam is in prolongation of transverse seal 11. In this location, thelongitudinal seam projects outwardly from the body of the package. Inthis respect, it differs from the package previously described sincethere the seam 20 is folded over against the outer surface of thecontainer, as shown particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3. The seam 20 is heldin this position by following around the convex outer surface of thepackage and being bent as it passes from side wall 12 around to theunderside of base 16. The curvature thus introduced into the seam 20causes it to stay down in its folded position against the outer surfaceof the package.

However, advantage ma'y be taken of the outstanding characteristic ofthe longitudinal seam 20a to provide a location for naturally picking upthe package to pour out the contents. With this construction, it isnatural to pick up the package between the thumb and forefinger at thejunction of the top transverse seal 11 and the longitudinal seam 20a;and this area may be enlarged and made more prominent by rounding theinterior corner of the junction of these two sealed areas as indicatedat 48 in FIG. 6.

The embodiment of FIGS. 69 also illustrates another modification of thepackage which, if desired, can also be incorporated in the packageillustrated in FIGS. 15. This involves the addition to the package oftwo selfsustaining folds 49 at two opposite sides of the package. Thefolds 49- are similar to folds 22 previously described, but they aredisposed at the two remaining sides of the base. Like folds 22, theyserve to delineate more definitely the base, since straight edges of thefolded and sealed areas 49 define two sides of the base 16a and theyalso serve to assist and maintain the desired angular relationshipbetween the side walls and the base.

There is a slight difference in the way in which these folds are made ascompared to folds 22 since the areas to be folded may be not broughtinto opposition to each other by the act of flattening the end of thepackage. [nstead, a tuck or fold is taken in each of the side walls 12and 14 at such a position that the folds 49 thus formed extend laterallyout beyond the package in substantial extension of the base 16 of thepackage.

FIGS. 14-18 illustrate another shape of package which has a round baseinstead of a polygonal base as previously described and which resultsfrom certain modifications in the previously described manufacturingsteps. Package b illustrated in FIGS. 14-18 is similar in most respectsto the package shown in FIGS. 69- and described above; and thedifferences between the two will now be described.

The construction of the package 10b is most easily understood from adescription of the steps followed in its manufacture. This package ismade in the same manner as previously described, as far as the stepsillutrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. One difference, of course, is thatmandrel 28 and plunger 31 are both circular in cross section, notpolygonal as previously described. The plunger is still 1 loose fitwithin the mandrel and movable relative thereto in order to act as aretractable extension of the mandrel which is lowered from within themandrel to expand the end of the tube and draw the portion of the tubeadjacent transverse seal 17 across the end of the plunger to form thebottom wall of the package.

At the end of this operation, the tube appears as illustrated in FIG. 18with portions of the web tube at 37 extending laterally outwardly fromthe tube at two opposing positions. In each of these extensions 37,areas of the original web have been brought into face-to-facerelationship, but as yet have not been scaled together.

The next operation is shown in FIG. 19 and constitutes an addition tothe package forming operations previously described. Here, the lateralextensions 37 are folded through approximately degrees to tuck themunderneath plunger 31 and the package 10b, as indicated by arrows 50.These extensions are now moved from the dotted line position to the fullline position indicated at 37b in FIG. 19. Any suitable means forperforming this folding or tucking operation may be employed, none beingshown in the drawing.

The final operation in forming the base of the package is now performedby raising sealing head 51 upwardly from the position of FIG. 19 to theposition of FIG. 20 where all the portions of the web at the base of thepackage are held between sealing head 51, which is heated, and plunger31. 'Remembering that the web is made of heat sealable material, it willbe realized that in this one operation the opposing areas in theextensions 37b are sealed together face-to-face at the same time thatthe extensions are pressed firmly against the end of plunger 31. Also,transverse seal 17 is folded over to lie fiat against the bottom wall ofthe package, in the position shown in FIG. 15. The flattened bottom isnow moved down one package length below the heads 34 by any suitablemeans which may include, for instance, the movement of the plunger 31down with the sealing head 51 while the base is being pressed betweenthe members as shown in FIG. 20. After the flattened bottom is moveddown, the package is then filled and sealed.

The characteristic of this last-mentioned step of forming the base ofthe package, not present in the procedures described above, is that theheat and pressure applied by sealing head 41 thermally mold the webaround the entire perimeter at the base of the package to maintain theangular relation at the junction of the base and side walls of thepackage. Upon withdrawing sealing head 51 and allowing the package tocool, the package sets in the shape given to it and to the configurationof the base and bottom wall are stabilized both by the formation of theselfsustaining folds and by the thermal molding at the junction of thebottom and side walls. The bottom of the completed package appears as inFIG. 17. It will be understood, of course, that the circular outline ofthe base may be altered if desired, and is not necessarily restrictiveupon the scope of the invention.

Other modifications and changes in the detailed construction andmanufacture of the package constituting the invention may occur topersons skilled in the art but without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that theforegoing description is considered as being illustrative of, ratherthan limitative upon, the invention as disclosed herein.

We claim:

1.The process of making a filled package that includes the steps ofclosing one end of a tube of thin, flexible material that is heatsealable on the inside face by flattening the tube transversely andsealing together the walls of the tube inside-face-to-inside-face over atransversely extending area;

deforming a terminal portion of the tube adjoining said transverse sealby axially flattening said terminal 'portion to form a base including abottom wall of substantially the same perimeter as the tube disposedgenerally normal to the axis of the tube;

stabilizing the configuration of the base and bottom wall by sealingtogether in inside-face-to-inside-face rela- 9 tion portions of the tubematerial brought into opposing relation by axially flattening theterminal portion of the tube; introducing a product into the tubethrough the open end thereof; and cfinally closing the package byplacing a seal above the product level. 2. The process of making afilled package that includes the steps of closing one end of a tube ofthin, flexible material that is heat scalable on the inside face byflattening the tube transversely and sealing together the walls of thetube inside-face-to-inside-face over a transversely extending area;deforming a terminal portion of the tube adjoining said transverse sealby axially flattening said terminal portion by moving the firstmentioned seal axially and relative to the tube to form a bottom wallgenerally normal to the tube axis with folds of generally triangularshape formed from surplus material disposed outwardly of the perimeterof the tube; folding the triangular shapes against a wall of thepackage, thereby forming a base of substantially the same perimeter asthe tube disposed generally normal to the axis of the tube; stabilizingthe configuration of the base and bottom wall; introducing a productinto the tube through the open end thereof; and finally closing thepackage by placing a seal above the product level. 3. The process ofmaking a filled package as claimed in claim 2 that also includes thestep of folding under the bottom wall said triangular folds and sealingtogether opposed walls of said triangular folds under the bottom wall.

4 The process of making a filled package as claimed in claim 1 in whichthe stabilizing step includes folding the transverse seal over againstthe bottom wall during and as a part of the axial flattening of saidterminal portion of the tube and subsequently producing a permanent setto the material of the transverse seal and the tube at the junction ofthe base and the side walls of the package. 5. The process of making afilled package as claimed in claim 1 in which the stabilizing stepincludes applying heat and pressure around substantially the entireperimeter of the base to thermally mold the transverse seal and thematerial of the tube to maintain an angular relation between the baseand the side walls of the package.

6. The process of making a filled package that includes the steps ofsealing one end of a tube of thin, flexible material that is heatscalable on the inside face by flattening the tube transversely andsealing the walls together at a position spaced from one end of amandrel inside the tube to produce a seal extending at its ends beyondthe tube; axially flattening a portion of the tube at the sealed endagainst a. surface lying in a plane transverse to the axis of the tubeto form a bottom wall and folds of generally triangular shape includingend port1ons of the transverse seal and extending outwardly beyond thetube;

sealing together opposing areas of triangularly shaped folded materialin the flattened zone to form selfsustaining folds in said zone;

introducing a product into the tube through the open end thereof; and

closing the package.

7. The process of making a filled package as claimed in claim 6 in whichthe side wall of the tube is pinched together to form a fold adjacentthe plane of the bottom wall and sealed along two opposite sides of thebottom wall.

8. The process of making a filled package as claimed in claim 6 in whichthe tube is formed by folding two flat webs of equal width around amandrel and joining opposed longitudinal margins of the webs by a sealedarea extending longitudinally of the mandrel; and

in which the two longitudinal seals are at the respective ends of thetwo transverse seals.

9. A machine for forming, filling and closing packages made from acontinuous web of flexible material having tube forming means forforming said web into a length of tube wherein said web is guidedthrough a tube forming means which has a top entry end and a bottom end,means below said bottom end of said tube forming for placing atransverse seal across the end of a length of the tube; the improvementcomprising means for forming a base at the sealed end of the tube instages of shaping and flattening, said base forming means including aninternal member within the tube wherein an end surface of said internalmember faces the interior sealed end of the tube; means for efiecting arelative movement between the tube and said internal member to theextent that said internal member engages the material of the tube in thevicinity of the sealed end thereof and effects an expansion and openingof the tube at and adjacent to the sealed end to define a base area andto partially shape and partially flatten a base on the tube; and furthershaping and flattening means for pressing the transverse seal flatlyjlolded against the base area and which includes an external baseforming member cooperable with said internal member for pressing thepartially shaped and partially flattened base and the transverse sealbetween said internal member and said external base forming member tosubstantially flatten the base in a plane between said members; meansfor placing a product in the package on the flattened base; means forclosing the package; and drive means for operating all of said means intimed relation to each other.

10. A machine as claimed in claim 9 including means to stabilize thefolded and pressed transverse seal whereby it remans in its pressedposition after said members have been separated.

11. A machine as claimed in claim 9 wherein said tube forming means areof the type for forming the tube in an open state, said means forplacing a transverse seal is of the type requiring the collapsing of anend portion of the tube adjacent the transverse seal, and said baseforming means are operable to reopen the collapsed end portion of thetube.

12. A machine as claimed in claim 9 wherein said tube forming meanscomprises means to guide the web and to shape the tube to apredetermined section, and longituldinal tube sealing means adjacentsaid tube forming means to seal the longitudinal edges of the webtogether into the tube; and wherein said means for placing a transverseseal across the tube comprise a pair of opposing transverse sealingheads with means to close them at a fixed vertical position to place thetransverse seal across the tube and then to separate them to positionsremote from the tube; and further means to reciprocally advance saidexternal base forming member to an operative position for said pressingof the base and then to withdraw it from said operative position, saidoperative position being that position whereby the partially shaped andpartially flattened base and the transverse seal are pressed betweensaid internal member and said external base forming member; tubeadvancing means including means for cyclically applying pressure to thetube material to impart a downward movement to the tube whereby theflattened base is moved downward to a position one package length belowsaid fixed vertical position during a time interval when said heads arein their said separated position; and wherein said drive meanssequentially times the engagement of said members to substantiallyflatten the base, to withdraw said external base forming member fromsaid operative position, and to advance the base a package length belowsaid fixed vertical position.

13. A machine as claimed in claim 12, wherein said tube forming meanscomprises a stationary outer tube shaping member over which the webpasses and an inner hollow mandrel around which the web forms into thetube with the tube being of slightly greater perimeter than said hollowmandrel, and wherein said hollow mandrel is the internal member and themeans through which the package is filled.

14. A machine as claimed in claim 12, wherein said tube forming meanscomprises a stationary outer tube shaping member over which the webpasses and an inner hollow mandrel around which the web forms into thetube with the tube being of slightly greater perimeter than said hollowmandrel, and wherein said internal member is a mandrel extension.

15. A machine as claimed in claim 14 wherein said mandrel extension hasa retracted position telescoped within said inner hollow mandrel.

- 16. A machine as claimed in claim 14 wherein said mandrel extensionhas a product supply passage therethrough.

17. A machine as claimed in claim 14 wherein said mandrel extension hasa product supply tube extending therethrough and secured thereto, saidproduct supply tube forming a support for said internal member.

18. A machine as claimed in claim 12 wherein said means for pressing andsubstantially flattening the base comprises means mounting said externalbase forming member for movement to press the base against said internalmember.

19. A machine as claimed in claim 12, wherein said means for effecting alongitudinal relative movement be tween said internal member and thetube thereon comprises means to move said internal member longitudinallywithin said tube to a stop point whereat the internal member has engagedand stretched the material at the sealed end of the tube and haspositioned it for substantial flattening.

20. A machine as claimed in claim 12 wherein said means for cyclicallyapplying pressure to the tube material includes means cooperable withsaid external base forming member for clamping and flattening at least aportion of the base area of the tube and for moving downward with saidexternal base forming member while so clamping and flattening the tubewherein the substantially flattened base is completed at a position onepackage length past said fixed vertical position.

21. A machine as claimed in claim 9 wherein said means for efiectingrelative movement eflects longitudinal relative movement between thetube and said internal member.

22. The process of forming, filling, and closing a package made from acontinuous web of flexible material that includes the steps of: formingsaid web into a length of tube by passing said web through a tubeformer, forming a transverse seal across the end of said tube, effectingrelative movement between said tube and an internal member within saidtube with the internal member engaging the material of said tube in thevicinity of the sealed end thereof and expanding said tube transverselyto define a bottom wall while drawing said transverse seallongitudinally relative to said tube to shorten said tube as its end isexpanded and becomes a partially shaped and partially flattened basearea, folding said transverse seal toward and proximal to said base areato position it for flattening, pressing said partially shaped andpartially flattened base area and said folded transverse seal betweenthe internal member and an external base forming member to substantiallyflatten said bottom wall in a plane between the members, placing aproduct in said tube through the unsealed end, and finally placing aclosing seal across the package.

23. The process of claim 22 which includes the step of stabilizing saidfolded and pressed transverse seal so that it remans in its pressedposition after the internal member 12 and the external base formingmembers are separated and the package is self-supporting.

24. The process of claim 22 wherein the expanding of the material at thesealed end of said tube by relative movement between the internal memberand said tube is eflected by relative longitudinal movement between saidtube and the internal member.

25. The process of claim 24, wherein the pressing-of said partiallyshaped and partially flattened base area and said folded transverse sealis caused by the external base forming member moving and pressing saidbasearea against the internal member.

26. The process of claim 22 wherein said tube is formed as an open tube,a portion of said tube adjacent said transverse seal is partiallycollapsed in the forming of said transverse seal, and said collapsedtube portion is opened during said expanding of said tube.

27. The process of forming and filling a tube with a stand-up base froma continuous web of flexible material that includes the steps of:passing said web over an outer tube shaping member to shape a length ofopen tube, collapsing an end portion of said tube and placing atransverse seal across the end of said tube, utilizing an internalmember disposed within said tube including effecting relative movementof the internal member and said tube and expanding and opening saidcollapsed tube to de fine a base area and to partially shape andpartially flatten a base on said tube, folding said transverse sealagainst an adjacent portion of said tube and thereafter stabilizingsaid. transverse seal in its folded position to provide for astabilization of said base, and introducing a product into said tubethrough the unsealed end of said tube.

28. The process of claim 27, wherein the step of partially shaping andpartially flattening also includes said step of folding said transverseseal toward and proximal to said base area to position it forflattening.

29. The process of claim 27 together with the additional step ofpressing said partially shaped and partially flattened base between theinternal member and an external base forming member to substantiallyflatten said base in a plane between the members.

30. The process of claim 27 wherein the expanding of the material at thesealed end of said tube by relative movement between the internal memberand the tube is eflected by relative longitudinal movement between thetube and said internal member.

31. The process of making and filling a package with a stand-up basefrom a flexible tube closed transversely at one end and open at theother that includes the steps of: stretching the material at the closedend of said tube across an end surface of an internal base formingmember within said tube to define a base area and to partially shape andpartially flatten a base on said tube whereafter surplus materialextends from the base, folding said surplus material against a wall ofthe package, pressing said partially shaped and partially flattened basebetween the internal base forming member and a flat external baseforming member to substantially flatten the base in a plane between saidmembers, placing a product in said tube through the unsealed end, andfinally placing a closing seal across the package.

32. The process of claim 31, wherein the step of stretching the materialat the closed end of said tube comprises a longitudinal relativemovement of the internal base forming member and said tube thereon tostretch said closed end.

33. The process of claim 32 together with the further step ofstabilizing said base.

34. The process of claim 3] wherein the step of stretching the materialat the closed end of the tube also comprises moving said internal baseforming member relative to the tube whereat the internal base formingmember is opposed by the external base forming mem- 13 14 ber and fromwhich position the internal base forming 3,306,001 2/1967 Peppler 5328 Xmember is thereafter retracted. 2,229,864 1/1941 Moore 53-46 X 3,091,9026/1963 Rheinhardt et a1. 5328 References Cited 3,325,961 6/1967 Liudh etal. 53-40 X 5 3,332,198 7/1967 Thesing 53-28 The following references,cited by the Examiner, are

of record in the patented file of this patent or the original THERONCONDQN. Primary Examincl.

atent. p UNITED STATES PATENTS S. F. DESMOND, Assistant Examiner3,263,391 8/1966- Wallsten 53*28 10 1 U.S. Cl. X.R. 3,048,951 8/1962Oler 53 -28 53-71-180

